It springs from many inspirations, notably Robert Bresson’s “Pickpocket,” but writer-director Paul Schrader has made the components his own and then some: an isolated man, alone in a room, writes in his diary while ruminating about the forces of darkness outside that room and inside his soul.
Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver,” written by Schrader, connects directly to Schrader’s most recent trio of pictures begun with the excellent “First Reformed” with Ethan Hawke; the Oscar Isaac-headed drama “The Card Counter”; and now, starring Joel Edgerton, “Master Gardener.” Old-fashioned in its pacing, but not really part of any fashion, new or old, other than Schrader’s, it’s a steely, flawed but fascinating affront to most anything else playing theaters right now.
Somewhere near New Orleans, the serene Gracewood Gardens estate flourishes under the supervision of Narvel Roth. In his journal, read in voice-over, he expounds on the life cycles of plants, flowers and different types of gardens throughout history. “Change will come,” he reassures himself, in every garden’s seasons. He’s hoping for the same for himself. The movie explains why.
